Recyclables recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW) has a history in the United States dating from the early 1900's. Material recovery from MSW developed out of necessity in refuse incineration and composting operations. Noncombustible/nonbiodegradeable objects (e.g. metal cans, glass bottles) were obstacles to efficient incineration and composting, and methods were found to remove them prior to waste processing. Picking these items from a moving conveyor belt prior to processing by incineration or composting is one method employed in this early era which is still in use today. The usefulness of improving this process by novel means is illustrated in a U.S. Department of Energy Small Business Innovation Research Program Solicitation:
Although landfilling is the most common waste management option, most states and many communities have set goals for diverting municipal solid waste (MSW) from landfills. These objectives are generally expressed as material recycle goals. A major obstacle to achieving these goals is the cost of collecting and/or preparing them as marketable secondary materials. Also, current practice often uses manual labor to conduct the sorting. Generally, the cost of recovering the material exceeds the cost of similar virgin materials. Innovative technology is needed that will reduce these costs and/or minimize the manual labor for generating marketable secondary materials..sup.1